We all drive cars and use computers, but not everyone knows what’s “under the hood.” We feel that it is important for you to know what’s inside your computer so that you can better maintain it. Also, if an issue arises, you will sound knowledgeable when asking for support. 

Where is your data stored?

The data is stored on the hard drive. Today, many computers come standard with one terabyte (1TB) of space but just a few years ago thirty gigabytes (30GB) was the “hot item.”

The new item is a solid state hard drive. They generally come with less data capacity than the standard hard drives but they are preferred by some since they are less likely to break.

Some computers are very cheap – what are they missing?

We find many times when a computer is on sale for very cheap they tend to only have 2 gigabytes of RAM. For Windows 7/8 we recommend a minimum of 4GB and prefer 6GB of RAM.

The memory, more commonly referred to as RAM, holds the information for what the computer is doing at the moment.

What’s the thing which makes a lot of noise?

The “noisy object” is most probably the fan. The fans are there to prevent the unit from getting hot. If the fan is broken, or if there is a lot of dust by the fan or if the vents are generally blocked the fan will not be able to work efficiently.

If the fan is broken, the computer may overheat and other parts may melt.

How do all the computer parts get powered?

All the components within the computer get powered with the power supply. On a desktop, the power supply is what you plug the power cord in to from the outside.

On the inside of the computer, the power supply has wires which connect to every component which requires power. This includes the motherboard, hard drive, CD/DVD drives, fans, video card as well as any additional cards.

(This is why you are able to charge your cell phone by plugging it into the USB slot – since the USB slot is connected to to the power supply, which is connected to the electrical outlet!)

What determines how many monitors you can plug into you desktop or laptop?

The first step is to see physically how many video ports are on your computer.

Generally speaking, the motherboard comes with one or two display ports (a combination of VGA, DVI or HDMI.)

If you are looking to attach multiple monitors, you can either attach a video card to the motherboard or purchase a USB to VGA/HDMI converter which does the trick as well! (When purchasing additional video cards, make sure to get one which supports multiple monitors.)

How does everything connect inside the computer?

All the components inside your computer connect to a central location, which is called the motherboard or system board.